The Post in Which I Dork Out on Everyone

Sometimes, I come across pins on Pinterest that are so eerily me that I absolutely have to repin them.  Here are a few of those gems to share with you today:

Source: someecards.com via Ginny on Pinterest

This one is funny because my sister and I have had brilliant conversations about fictional characters.  Honestly, one of my feet is always in another fictional realm, so this pin makes perfect sense to me.  Thanks Mollye for always talking to me about the important things, like whether or not we too would have shot Cato in the head.

Source: Uploaded by user via Ginny on Pinterest

I LOVE reading work with British authors and with British characters.  I'll read aloud to myself from time to time in a British accent.  My students happen to love my British accent.

Source: imgfave.com via Ginny on Pinterest

Once again, because one of my feet is always in one of these places.  However, I would NEVER leave the Shire and am still waiting on my Hogwarts acceptance letter.

Source: tumblr.com via Ginny on Pinterest

This is true.  In my heart of hearts, I know I would've been one of the ones that stepped off the platform too early and been blown to smithereens.  The bad thing is, I feel like Hunger Games isn't completely impossible.

Source: zumbawithteresa.blogspot.com via Ginny on Pinterest

Yep.  I tried Zumba with my son and he did much better than me.  I honestly didn't even feel like the girl on the left.  I felt every bit like a crazy person dancing in a sanitorium.

Source: cheezburger.com via Ginny on Pinterest

This was me back last April.  Two thousand, five hundred, fifteen pins later I'm still going strong.

What pin describes you?  Comment me the link; I want to see it!

My Neighbors Think I'm Weird

Did I ever tell you about the time my neighbors began to think I am really weird?

We have this cat, Merry. You've met her before. Merry is an inside cat that insists on taking daily jaunts outside. I don't like this because she is not fixed yet and there is a very real chance the little hussy could get knocked up.

I can never catch her though, as I am usually toting and/or wrangling a small child through the doorway. She's fast and I am decidedly slow.

I learned a little something though. If you scream like banshee as you come into the house, it scares the bejesus out of Merry and she runs back into the house, fearful.

So proud of myself for this new strategy, I began to holler and and shriek every time we entered the house. This worked great and even Toph got in on it.

One day my neighbors were watering their grass as I was unlocking the front door. I geared myself up and let out a most terrifying shriek when I opened the door. This time, however, Merry got wise and ran out anyway, just faster because she was still scared.

I turned to grab her when I looked up at my neighbors.

They were staring, jaws dropped. I nervously giggled and said, "I'm trying to scare the cat."

I rushed inside the house and haven't been seen since.

Pouring My Heart Out: A Few Things

This is my first link up with Shell's Pour my Heart Out link party, so I thought I would start big for everyone and pour my heart out about a mishmash of different topics.

--For the life of me, I can't find a bra that will fit me. I'm in the process of weaning Toph and my girls are all over the place. I'm pretty sure the left on is dry but the right one's cup overfloweth, if you catch my drift. So, in my 38D bra, one side is spilling out and the other is too small for the cup, making me look like I'm wearing someone else's bra. It's annoying and it makes me feel extremely self conscious.

So I've got that going for me.

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--I'm pretty angry about the budget crisis my state is facing. It means the education budget is being slashed dramatically, thus putting all the inner city school children in even more dire straits that what they were. Say what you will, but the demographic of children who will be hit the hardest are my kids. The inner city kids. The higher demo will ride this storm and no one will really know the difference.

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--I'd be a terrible stay at home mom. It's what I want to do more than anything, however I think I would thoroughly stink at the "home" part of the job description. I can't seem to get anything cleaned, cooked or DONE while staying at home with my boy. The mom part I've got down; we play, we read, we fuss, we eat, we nap. It's the other part I'm having hard time with. My husband really puts me to shame, which compounds my problem. I came home the other night from a wedding shower and the house was pristine, he was in the middle of pureeing veggies, the baby was bathed and in bed and the carpet was vacuumed. What am I doing wrong?

--Sometimes, I find a random blog that I read and it bothers me but I read it anyway. I never follow or comment on these blogs, but I continue to read them even though I am pretty sure this person and I would not be friends in real life. I always come away feeling...lesser after having read this blog. I'll admit; today I wanted to leave a snarky comment as she told us about her sponsored post but never mentioned the product at all.  Come on. Alas, I didn't leave the comment and have vowed to not visit the site if it makes me feel that way. (No, it's not your blog in case you're wondering. This person FOR SURE does not read my wonderful writing, nor do her posts come through my dashboard.)

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--There are times when I feel unsettled and I can't think of why.  I have to backtrack and think about the events that led up to right now, to try and figure out why my soul is not still.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes, it's plain old PMS.

I'm Not Lovely; YOU'RE Lovely (But Thank You Very Much!)



Thanks so much to Jenae for awarding me "One Lovely Blog Award."  She is too sweet for thinking of me (but I really can't disagree... I am a great daily read ((her words, not mine)).  Y'all should check out her amazing photography blog and her sweet personal blog. 

Here are the award guidelines:
1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs.  (Let's see if I can actually do this one.)
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

Seems easy enough, right?

 7 Randoms:

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1.  I hate birds.  They can peck you with their sharp beaks.  Their claws are sharp.  Their excrement falls from the sky. Even their chirping is ominous.

2.  I am not a dainty eater.  I will eat a whole foot long Subway sandwich by myself and I'm okay with that.

3.  My husband gives the best backrubs; I kind of wish I could have bought this onesie for Toph:

Source: flickr.com via Ginny on Pinterest

4.  I get a giddy, light feeling when I'm browsing Pinterest.  It's inspiration overload.

Source: crapivemade.com via Ginny on Pinterest

 

Source: etsy.com via Ginny on Pinterest

You're feeling inspired right now, aren't you?  And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

5.  It was an oddly freeing feeling to me that Blogger blacked out for awhile.  I missed y'all though.

6.  My baby likes to dig in my purse.

Above you will see two items my child found in my purse: my tampon and an emergency pacifier kept in one of the pockets.  Kid is good; as you can see, he's blaming it on the cat.

7.  I have so many craft projects waiting in the wings that sometimes I am just a dither; I can't figure out which one to do next.  However, it seems that all systems are pointing at me FINALLY starting to use my sewing machine.  I'm nervous.

Here are the blogs to whom I will bestow this honor:

City Life to Ranching Wife (you're gonna love her)

Do Sweat the Small Stuff (because let's face it; we all do)

I Do Thee Wed Sara (one of my bloggy sitsahs)

i heart andy gross (I love teacher bloggers)

I KNOW HOW BABBY IS FORMED (this girl can write)

Literally Inspired (this blog title rocks my socks every time I see it)

Newlyweds on a Budget (another bloggy sitsah)

She's Crafty (this lady can come over to my house any day and we can chat and craft)

Highway 101 (cutest pregnant lady ever AND she can rock the bright red lipstick)

New Hair, Before and After

Remember my "Long Hair, Short Hair, Brown Hair, Grey Hair" post? Well, today was the big day. I've been waiting for a long time for this hair appointment and I was not disappointed.

Here is what I looked like when I left for the appointment:

Yes, that's what it looked like.  I didn't comb or fix it (what's the point?) but I did put extra makeup on.  My theory is that when one feature of your appearance looks like that, it's best to accentuate the aspect of your appearance that doesn't look like it's been electrocuted.

The hair salon was awesome; not only did I get my free wi-fi, I also got a facial (so in retrospect, there was no point in all that makeup either) and a hand scrub.  This is what I looked like after the appointment

{Did I keep it long, or go short?}

Try to ignore the blurriness of the photo and the filthiness of my mirror.

 

Yep, I went short!  It's straight right now but I'm anxious to see how it looks curly. 

What do you think?  I also went a lot darker but it's harder to tell in the photos.  I told my stylist I wanted it to be the same shade as Kate Middleton.

I think I look just like her, only short haired.  Right??

Long Hair, Short Hair, Brown Hair, Grey Hair

Y'all.
I have not had my hair done since November.

Just let that sink in. Not. Since. November. The mop on top of my head is dry. It's lifeless. It's dull. Every day, more and more grey ladies are moving in and more brown ladies are moving out. What is it with grey hairs being an entirely different texture than your normal hair color? Mine are like wires and stick straight up, waving at people. "Look at me! Gin's getting old!," they shout.

The grey problem will be remediated next week at the swanky Treat Hair Studio here in town. Girl, they have free wi-fi up in there, plus all the bottled water I can drink. The greys will be washed away that day, no questions asked.

However, I'm waffling over another issue. Length! Right now, my hair is in the middle of no mans land; it's not long, it's not short and it has no defined layers. It's pitiful.

This is what it looks like on a good day:

 

Meh.

And I won't even show you what it looks like on a bad day, only that my hair is styled like this on a bad day:

 I'm tired of throwing it in a pony!

Herein lies my dilemma: do I chop it all off or be patient and let it grow?

Here is long haired gin, a la 2005:

 Just us, chillin' at our house.

Here is long haired gin, a la about-to-pop:

I thought a girl was in there!

Here is short haired gin, a la 2007:

I hated this cut at first, but as a mother I am oddly drawn to it...

Look how sweetly it would curl up for me. However, those long wavy locks are bangin' too.

What do you think? I'm giving you a week; vote and tell me which you think would be better: long, wavy locks or a short, curly bob.

Oh, and comment too. I'm obsessed with comments.

I'm just gin.

gin loves her little boy so fiercely.

gin is crazy about her husband.

gin can throw down when it comes to food.

gin sees injustices in the educational system and wants to change them.

gin has blue eyes.

gin loves to smile.

gin would decorate her whole house just by making frequent trips to the craft store.

gin gets annoyed by facebook.

gin loves her blog; her own little corner of the internets.

gin likes to play pretend with her boy.

gin prefers her husband to drive.

gin is overly stimulated from all the ideas rolling around in her head.

gin will cry really hard when Michael Scott leaves The Office for good.

gin wants another baby on some days.

gin does not want another baby on other days.

gin realizes that that decision can be put off for awhile.

gin loves to shoot hoops with her husband.

gin loves to kiss her husband too.

gin loves to put a basketball in her son's hands and watch him dribble.

gin loves to read.

gin loves to write.

gin loves her fellow bloggers.

gin even loves anonymous commenters.

gin's husband is really, really good at words with friends.

gin's husband's WWF ID is tgkmom if you want to play.

gin is telling you right  now that you'll lose if you challenge him.

gin can cook about anything you want except fish.

gin loves the french kisses her baby gives her.

gin always has room for dessert.

gin will DVR the royal wedding.

gin would love to watch the royal wedding while eating chocolate cake in the pan and not bother with the plate.

I'm just gin.

Who are you?

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

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Have you ever said something out loud and then thought, "Why did I say that?"

*please say yes*

Now, let me ask you this: have you ever blogged something (and I mean published it), and then thought, "Why did I write that?"

Well, both the former and the latter have happened to me, the latter having occurred not just two days ago. It started simply enough, I was just completing the ABCs of me and enjoying myself. In the moment, I thought nothing of it.

Today, however, I was working on a project that required redundant work, so it gave me time for my mind to drift. It drifted this way and that and then...BAM! I realized what I said in my ABC blog was downright offensive. I immediately went and edited it, but I feel the damage has been done, so I am apologizing.

If you'll remember (or maybe not, if you don't remember you probably didn't get offended), for D (Dogs) I wrote, "None, but we have two retarded special needs cats." (Just typing it makes me feel icky.)

This is offensive. Not to the cats, but to me and to you. The thing is, I was trying to be funny in equating my cats to being dumb, which they both most certainly are. However, I NEVER should have used the words I used. I don't use them in real life (it's a fact folks). Plus, it made me look as if I refer to animals/people with special needs as retarded, which could not be further from the truth.  The fact that this is how I made myself sound makes me cringe in a real way.

Those words, that phraseology, is not indicative of who I am or what I am or what I was raised to be. If you were reading along, enjoying yourself and then had to glance twice at the "d", then to you, I am sorry.  I don't use that term flippantly (or at all) anywhere else in my life and I certainly will not begin to use it here.

Gin: The Alphabet

I saw this over at Boerman Ramblings and thought, 

"Hey, why not?"

I love to talk about myself

and I love to learn random factoids about people as well.

Gin:  The Alphabet

Age:  28

Bed size: Queen

We like to play on mama and daddy's bed.

Chore you hate:  Bathrooms.  I hate cleaning a bathroom.

This is not me.  I won't even say I wish it was me because...

who has a smirk on their face whilst scrubbing a toilet?

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Dogs:  None but we have two silly cats.

Merry and Pippen; doing what they do best.

Essential start of my day:  Coffee.  Once that is taken care of, I sit down and read blogs.  I feel for those bloggers who receive comments from me before the caffeine has begun to take effect.

Favorite Color:  Blue

Gold or silver:  I love a mixture of both; my wedding ring is white gold, but my silver Tiffany set is on of my faves, as well as my James Avery pieces.  I love to accessorize with chunky yellow gold necklaces and big yellow gold earrings.

Height: 5'7

Instruments I play:  No tradiational instruments but I play a mean iPod.  Everything from Ye to Jack Johnson to Regina Spektor to Ben Folds to Modest Mouse to Bright Eyes to Jay-Z.  I love music.

Job title:  I have three.  Mama, wife and teacher.

Kids: Toph: 1 year old

Live: Lone Star State

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Mom's Name: Becky

Nickname: gin

Overnight hospital stays: When I squeezed a 7lb 14 ouncer out of my uterus.

Toph; fresh out the box.

Pet peeve:  When I miss spots while shaving my legs.  I love looking down on skirt days and seeing a random spiky knee.

Quote from a movie:  I love this whole dialogue from "Anchorman" so I'm including it:

Brian Fantana:  I'll give this little cookie an hour before we're doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up.
Ron Burgundy: Wow. Never ceases to amaze me. What cologne you gonna go with? London Gentleman, or wait. No, no, no. Hold on. Blackbeard's Delight.
Brian Fantana: No, she gets a special cologne... It's called Sex Panther by Odeon. It's illegal in nine countries... Yep, it's made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good.
Ron Burgundy: It's quite pungent.
Brian Fantana: Oh yeah.
Ron Burgundy: It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils. In a good way.
Brian Fantana: Yep.
Ron Burgundy: Brian, I'm gonna be honest with you, that smells like pure gasoline.
Brian Fantana: They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.
Ron Burgundy: That doesn't make sense.
Brian Fantana: Well... Let's go see if we can make this little kitty purr.

What? You haven't seen "Anchorman"? You must.

Right of left handed: Right.

Siblings:  Mollye, Clarice, Katie

Time I wake up:  In between 5am and 5:30 on the weekdays and whenever Toph feels like waking up on the weekends (and he has the uncanny ability of waking up extra early those days...weird.)

Umbrella:  I leave them places and lose them.  I'm terrible at keeping up with things like that or about remembering to bring one.

Vegetable I dislike: Peas.

What makes me run late:  My disorganization.

Yummy food I make: Baked ziti.

Thanks to Lauren for inspiring to make it last week!

Zoo animal: Giraffes.

Now you know your ABCs {of gin} now go ahead and follow me.

(if you sing it to the tune of the "ABC" song...it makes sense.)

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